Singapore Orders Facebook to Correct User's Social-Media Post
29 Novembre 2019 - 04:13PM
Dow Jones News
By Niharika Mandhana and Phred Dvorak
SINGAPORE -- Authorities in this city-state directed Facebook
Inc. on Friday to publish a correction to a post by a user on the
social-media website, marking the first test for the tech giant
since Singapore passed a sweeping law this year to combat what it
sees as online falsehoods and fake news.
The government said it had issued a "targeted correction
direction" to Facebook in connection with a post containing
allegations that authorities had made a wrongful arrest. The
information was incorrect and no such arrest had been made, the
government said.
Its order requires Facebook to publish a "correction notice" in
a way that users of the platform in Singapore who see the original
post also see the correction.
How Facebook responds to the government order will set the
course for social-media regulation in the country and influence
so-called fake news laws taking shape elsewhere. Governments around
the world are looking for ways to curb the spread of false
information, which has led to violence in some countries.
But broad government powers, such as those under the new
Singapore law, have alarmed technology companies and human-rights
groups that say the rules could be used to stifle political dissent
and free speech.
Facebook has long argued it doesn't adjudicate on whether
material posted on its website is true or false. Chief Executive
Mark Zuckerberg last year sparked controversy when he said the
company wouldn't remove posts that denied the Holocaust had
occurred, and more recently has pushed back against pressure in the
U.S. to check the accuracy of political ads.
Facebook declined to comment on whether it would comply with the
Singapore order.
The law, called Protection from Online Falsehoods and
Manipulation Act, gives government ministers the power to direct
internet companies like Facebook, Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Twitter
Inc. and others to remove or correct information they deem false if
they decide that action is in Singapore's public interest. Failure
to comply could lead to large fines.
Singapore's leaders have said the Southeast Asian city-state is
especially vulnerable to abuse of social media because of a diverse
religious and racial mix. The country has accused tech companies of
not doing enough to rein in damaging content.
This week, before reaching out to Facebook, the government
directed the person who wrote the post, Alex Tan, to publish a
correction, according to a statement by the government agency
responsible for administering the law. Mr. Tan, who was a political
activist in Singapore and now lives in Australia, runs a website
called the States Times Review, frequently posting material
critical of the government. He didn't comply with the direction and
argued in a Facebook post that he wasn't subject to Singapore
law.
The government's next move was to direct Facebook to act.
Authorities issued their first order under the new law earlier
this week directing an opposition politician in Singapore to
publish a correction to a post about investments by
government-linked firms.
The politician, Brad Bowyer, agreed to comply by adding a
correction notice that reads: "This post contains false statements
of fact" and links to a government website that lays out the
official responses to the points authorities believe to be
incorrect or misleading.
In a separate Facebook post, Mr. Bowyer published a
point-by-point rebuttal of the government's corrections, in some
cases saying he hadn't asserted what the government appeared to
have inferred from his words.
Write to Niharika Mandhana at niharika.mandhana@wsj.com and
Phred Dvorak at phred.dvorak@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 29, 2019 09:58 ET (14:58 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Grafico Azioni Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
Storico
Da Feb 2024 a Mar 2024
Grafico Azioni Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)
Storico
Da Mar 2023 a Mar 2024